4 Things you can do to get back to Sleep When you Wake up in the Middle of the Night

September 26, 2017

Imagine that, you finally fell asleep only to wake back up again in the middle of the night. You wake up hot or cold, your mind starting racing, you thinking of what you need to get for the kids, what you need to accomplish at work, are you getting enough time for yourself, does your next project have a plan of action, you can’t stop thinking about an inspiration caption you read on Instagram, and the list goes on and on. You glance over at the clock, only to realize you have been awake now for two hours and counting. And the ultimate killer, your stomach starts to growl as if it weren’t fed for three days.

The problem is, that when we wake up we immediately start to worry that we are awake. When we start to worry our bodies send ‘wake’ signals from the circadian clock to our body. Our body’s heart rate starts increasing, our blood pressure rises, and our body temperature jumps.

Here are some tips and tricks to stop you sending those awake feelings to your back so that you fall back asleep immediately.

Breathe deeply

When you wake up, don’t freak out and take a deep breath. Pay attention to your breath until you fall back asleep. This will keep your body from sending those ‘wake’ signals while giving your mind something to concentrate on so that it doesn’t start to race. Or tap into your childhood and count sheep or whatever animal of an item of your choosing.

Try an inversion or legs up the wall.

Getting your body or parts of your body upside down has many benefits. Being inverted improves your focus and helps to drain your lymphatic system to really help relax you and zen you out.